The first smartphone—the iPhone—came out in 2007. 

 

"By 2012, the majority of Americans owned a smartphone. The years since have resembled a vast experiment, especially on children and adolescents. The results of that experiment have been a disaster."

- Jean Twenge, American Psychologist

U.S. 8th graders’ scores on standardized tests in math and reading, 1971-2024. Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Academic performance has been declining 

since 2012.

 

After 20 years of improvement, 8th graders’ reading and math scores started falling after 2012. Some of the decline took place during Covid, but this trend started 8 years before the pandemic.⁽¹⁾

 

 

Youth mental health is also in crisis. 

Since the early 2010s...

Adolescent depression has doubled, with a "sharp and sustained" increase among girls ⁽²⁾

Hospital visits for self-harm among girls ages 10–14 have surged by 

over 370% ⁽³⁾

Suicidal ideation has jumped; 1 in 4 teen girls planned or considered suicide in 2021 ⁽⁴⁾

 

About half of U.S. kids have a smartphone by age 11. ⁽⁵⁾

"The dramatic rise in adolescent anxiety, depression, and suicide correlates closely with the widespread adoption of smartphones over the past 15 years."

 

"I’ve watched students who struggle to make friends not learn how to, because they can retreat into the short-term safety of their phones rather than tolerate the discomfort that often precedes finding one’s way into a conversation."

 

“Phones teach our students to abandon the eyes of the person they’re speaking to in order to glance at a newly arrived text or Snapchat message.”

 

— Russell Shaw, "Why We're Banning Phones at Our School"

In a 2024 survey, nearly half said they wished it never existed.

The solution? Let kids be kids a little longer.

Delco Unplugged is a growing community of families in Delaware County, PA choosing to delay smartphones and social media for our children. Through a shared community pledge, we’re standing united against the pressure to introduce this technology too soon.

• Delay smartphones until (at least) high school. 
• Delay social media until (at least) age 16. 

 

When the time is right to introduce a communication tool, try a basic talk-and-text phone or kid-safe watch. Check out our Alternative Devices page for some ideas!